Anna Spoerre
Reporter, Missouri IndependentAnna Spoerre covers reproductive health care for The Missouri Independent. A graduate of Southern Illinois University, she most recently worked at the Kansas City Star where she focused on storytelling that put people at the center of wider issues. Before that she was a courts reporter for the Des Moines Register.
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Missouri’s highest court for the second time in four years rebuked the efforts by Republican lawmakers to ban abortion providers and their affiliates from receiving Medicaid reimbursements.
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As Republican lawmakers voted down amendments aimed at legalizing abortion in cases of rape or incest, one state senator defended the decision, saying, "God does not make mistakes."
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Abortion rights advocates said cutting funding to Planned Parenthood would be a "devastating blow" to Missouri's public health safety net. The Missouri Supreme Court previously struck down a state budget that would exclude abortion providers from receiving Medicaid reimbursements.
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The effort to get an abortion rights amendment on the 2024 ballot has the support of the major abortion advocacy groups in the state. But it’s also drawn criticism from activists over its fetal viability standard.
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Missouri has one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the country, but a new initiative petition would legalize the practice up to the point of "fetal viability." To qualify for the November ballot, the coalition has until May 5 to gather enough signatures from across the state.
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As lawmakers return to the Missouri Capitol for the 2024 legislation session, Republicans have already filed numerous bills seeking further restrictions on abortion and abortion providers — including one bill that would allow homicide charges against women who have abortions.
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"It’s more like gambling than it is health care," said one woman about infertility treatments, "because you’re wagering significant amounts of money... and you might come out with nothing."
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Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes is endorsing the House Minority Leader for governor. In a state where nearly all abortions have been illegal since Roe v. Wade was overturned, Quade says she supports putting the most expansive possible abortion access amendment on the 2024 ballot.
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Missouri abortion-rights initiatives face a ‘torturous’ road to the 2024 ballot. Here's what to knowTwo coalitions are hoping to put abortion on the 2024 ballot in Missouri, where virtually all abortions are illegal. The issue has proven to be a big winner in numerous states, but both groups face the same question: Is there enough time and money to get their proposed amendments off the ground?
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Missouri's abortion ban does not include any exceptions for survivors of rape. A proposed constitutional amendment would change that, but it would also require women seeking an abortion to report the assault to a crisis hotline. Some survivor advocacy groups worry it could cause further harm.